ICC clears Ashes after corruption probe

The ICC has found no evidence of corruption following an investigation stemming from a newspaper story in The Sun on the eve of the Perth Ashes Test, which claimed the series had been targeted for spot-fixing along with various T20 tournaments around the world.

In the lead-up to the third Ashes Test at the WACA in December, The Sunreported that two of their undercover reporters had been asked for GBP140,000 (USD187,000) to "spot fix" markets in the match, such as the exact amount of runs scored in an over.

The ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) immediately launched an investigation, saying that they would cross-reference this new information with their existing reports, although they added, very early on, that there was no evidence that the Perth Test had been corrupted in any way.

Now, two months later, the ACSU has confirmed that their investigations did not turn up anything to suggest any matches, players or officials have been involved.

"We have carried out an extensive global investigation with anti-corruption colleagues from Member countries based on the allegations in The Sun and the material they shared with us," Alex Marshall, the general manager anti-corruption, said

"I am satisfied that there is no evidence to suggest any match has been corrupted by the individuals in the investigation nor is there any indication that any international players, administrators or coaches have been in contact with the alleged fixers."

The game's most high-profile spot-fixing scandal was broken by the now-defunct News of the World - sister paper to The Sun - in 2010, which led to Pakistan's Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif being given prison sentences for bowling deliberate no-balls in a Test at Lord's.